


Things Going Sideways

by st_mick



Series: Niffler [54]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Torchwood
Genre: Captured by cannibals, Episode: s01e06 Countrycide, Ianto panics, In what world is Gwen the nice one?, Jack makes a pass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2021-01-24 01:04:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21329707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/st_mick/pseuds/st_mick
Summary: A training session heads in a promising direction, until Ianto panics.  He manages to avoid Jack until they face off during the camping mission to the Brecon Beacons.  Nothing is resolved, and their discussion is interrupted when a body is found.  Ianto and Toshiko are taken prisoner, and only after panicking and enduring a flashback does Ianto pull himself together enough to help Tosh escape...
Series: Niffler [54]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1276304
Comments: 20
Kudos: 46





	Things Going Sideways

Even before the Fae showed up, Jack had been trying to keep Ianto busy. Training four nights a week, Estelle’s estate, pushing for the Flat Holm projects to continue, and a good number of midnight conversations all seemed to keep Ianto from falling too far back into the depression that had plagued him at the beginning of the year.

It was a Thursday afternoon, two weeks after the Fae had taken Jasmine Pearce, when Jack caught Ianto staring into space at the coffee machine, his expression full of sorrow. Making a snap decision, he said, “Ianto, go change. Let’s get a spar in before you take your long weekend off.”

Ianto gave a bit of a start at the sound of Jack’s voice, but nodded and headed to the locker room to change. They had a bit of a grapple once they warmed up. Jack always enjoyed that. It was a very hands on way of training, and it allowed him to appease some of his growing desires in a harmless way. 

Ianto had been a quick study, and months of training had him besting Jack rather more often than the older man cared to admit. A particularly clever (and completely inadvertent) takedown landed Ianto on top of Jack. Ianto sucked in a breath of surprise at the spark he felt snapping between them. 

Seemed the numbness was finally beginning to wear off…

Jack chuckled at the shock he saw in Ianto’s eyes, assuming the younger man was surprised he had bested him. They pushed back to their feet and Jack said, “Good job. Now try to do it again, but on purpose, this time.”

Ianto’s next attempt was thwarted, and Jack was now straddling him, holding his arms lightly above his head. “See how I reversed that?” his voice was low and silky. Ianto shifted his arms and Jack took his time moving so they could roll away from one another.

This time, Jack advanced, and Ianto defended. He took Jack down. On purpose, this time. “Better?” he asked, nose to nose with his Captain. All of a sudden, he felt quite breathless. One knee was planted between Jack’s legs, the other by his waist. His arms stretched up over Jack’s head, and their chests brushed together as each struggled for breath.

Jack was quite still beneath Ianto, and the wizard was reminded of another moment, when he’d found himself atop this beautiful man, blue eyes laughing into his. It began to feel as though the very air around them was growing heavy with a tension that was practically pressing them closer to one another.

“Much better,” Jack grinned, realizing as soon as he spoke that the spell had been broken.

Ianto frowned and got to his feet.

Jack wasn’t sure how much longer he could be patient. Damn it, he’d never waited so long for a lover, and he was more than ready to claim his prize. So as he got to his feet once more, he became determined to break down Ianto’s defenses and at least steal a kiss. 

With that goal in mind, he began sparring with Ianto in earnest, advancing a bit more aggressively than usual. “Keep your left up,” he coached, carefully maneuvering the younger man in subtle ways. 

By the time their hour was up, Jack had Ianto right where he wanted him: practically pinned against the far wall. They were both gasping for breath and covered in sweat, though it hadn’t been as fun getting that way as Jack would have liked. 

As he moved into Ianto’s space, the younger man’s breath hitched in a different way, and Jack caught the swift glance towards his lips, and he began closing the distance between them. Jack leaned in closer to Ianto, who unconsciously swayed nearer to Jack as though caught in some sort of magnetic field. 

When he quickly reversed course, pressing back towards the wall, Jack slowly pursued. He watched Ianto closely, looking for any sign that he should pull away. He saw none. Ianto was flushed and breathless, and Jack reveled in the small puffs of breath on his face as Ianto’s breath hitched again.

Moving slowly, Jack placed his right knee between Ianto’s legs and pressed his body against Ianto’s. This little dance had him half-hard, already. He felt that gorgeous jolt as their bodies connected, and he was impressed by Ianto’s self-control. 

Jack didn’t like to brag (Oh, all right. Who was he kidding? He loved to brag), but he was not usually the one to become aroused, first. In the split second it took Jack to realize this, it all seemed to go to hell.

***

Ianto felt as though Jack had cast some sort of spell. The air had become thick and close, like a warm blanket on a cold night. Jack’s scent surrounded him, and he felt comforted and off-balance, all at once. He could finally, properly _feel_ that delicious spark between them, and it was all he could do to refrain from reaching out and pulling Jack closer.

Ianto swayed towards Jack, wondering just what those lips would taste like. Gods and goddesses, he missed kissing. He missed everything about being close to someone, in that way. But kissing… There was just something about sharing one’s breath, the caress of lips, the nibble of teeth, the slide of tongues…

In the next moment, he remembered that he was trying not to lean into Jack, and he pulled back. To his astonishment, Jack followed.

What was Jack doing?

Ianto wasn’t certain he was breathing properly. That might explain this very real fantasy playing out, where Jack was leaning towards him, his eyes dark and smiling. As he stepped closer, Ianto’s brain stuttered. But then Jack pressed his body against Ianto’s, and his brain kicked back in.

_Oh, gods, he’s going to kiss me. He’s – oh. Oh, that’s nice…_

But the second Ianto felt the beginnings of Jack’s arousal, he panicked.

_No, no, no! He’s going to find out I can’t… and he’ll… shit!_

Ianto’s head snapped back so hard his head hit the wall behind him with a dull _thunk_. Jack quickly backed away, sensing something was off. “Ianto?”

Ianto whooped in a deep breath and slid out from his space between Jack and the wall, and the world grew that much colder. “I’m sorry,” he muttered, then walked quickly from the room.

“Ianto?” Jack followed him out.

“I just remembered, I’m late for an appointment, Sir.”

Jack caught up with him in the locker room and was surprised when Ianto grabbed a hoodie, his wallet, and keys and headed out. “Have a good weekend, Sir.”

“Ianto, what’s wrong?” Jack had been watching Ianto closely, and he’d been moving slowly enough that he was certain he would have spotted any hesitation so he could back off, right away. He had no idea what had caused Ianto to panic, at the last moment.

Ianto looked at him, and then quickly away. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll see you Monday.”

Jack watched with a good deal of concern as Ianto practically sprinted from the hub.

“Jack?” Toshiko called him over.

Jack gave the cog wheel door one last look before turning to his technical genius. “What’ve you got, Tosh?”

“I thought you’d like to know. I set a calendar reminder, so we could be prepared.”

“Prepared for what?”

She glanced around. Owen and Gwen had their heads together, so she was confident they wouldn’t overhear. “Tomorrow,” she said, her voice low. “Would have been Lisa’s birthday.”

_Shit_.

Jack groaned. Of all days for him to make a move on Ianto – no wonder he panicked and ran. He looked at Toshiko, who was worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. “Do you know what his plans were, for this weekend?”

She shook her head. “I hope he won’t isolate himself,” she replied.

***

Ianto isolated himself, that weekend.

But despite his friends’ concerns, it was good for him. He had time to himself, to mourn. The pain of his losses had settled from the screaming agony of those first weeks to a dull, throbbing ache that could still occasionally rob him of breath.

He went to London that Friday and visited all of the haunts that he and Lisa used to frequent. It was after midnight by the time he got back to Cardiff. He took a dreamless sleep potion and didn’t wake up until sundown on Saturday.

He ordered Chinese food and watched old movies that he used to watch with Lisa and cried more than he would have liked to admit. He journaled before the fire and returned to bed at dawn with another potion that he had stockpiled.

What Draco didn’t know…

He slept the whole day on Sunday, and when he woke for work on Monday, he actually felt somewhat renewed.

The only problem now was facing Jack.

***

“Your coffee, Sir.”

“Ianto, wait,” Jack spoke quickly before the younger man could bolt from the room. It had been more than a week, and Ianto had been friendly and accommodating and his work had been as impeccable as ever. 

But Ianto was avoiding Jack, and it was taking a toll on both of them.

Jack missed his friend. He missed the companionship and was only now realizing how much he had come to rely on the conversations, as much as the flirting. 

Ianto missed Jack, as well. He missed the warmth of their interactions and the chance to pretend that someone cared about him. His loneliness ached deep inside, like a raw nerve in a cold wind. But his embarrassment and fear – fear that the battle had unmanned him in a very literal and permanent sense – kept him from explaining to Jack why he had run away from their interaction.

But Jack’s stories alone were enough to tell him that such an unabashedly sexual creature would never settle for some impotent office boy. Not when she of the heaving breast was always waiting, cow-eyed and breathless, in the wings.

There was a very strong possibility that Ianto was feeling bitter.

“Sir?” he turned to face Jack, mask firmly in place.

Jack saw the mask and sighed. “I was wondering if you wanted to order Chinese and have a rematch on the chess board,” he suggested, knowing Ianto was going to refuse.

“I’m sorry, Sir, but I have dinner plans with friends tonight.” He saw the disappointment in Jack’s eyes and the ache became even more acute. “Perhaps another time.”

“We’re never going to discuss it, then?” Jack spoke to Ianto’s back as the younger man attempted another escape.

“I would prefer to just leave it, Sir.”

“Can you at least tell me why?”

Ianto shook his head. 

“Please?” It was practically a whisper.

In that moment, Ianto remembered the many lectures he had received from Lisa on how his reluctance to communicate tended to hurt those he cared about. He bowed his head in defeat and sighed. “I’m broken, Jack. And there are some things that don’t seem to be mending. I’m no good to anyone, anymore.” He squared his shoulders. “You deserve better than… Anyway, there are plenty of bright, shiny playthings out there that aren’t ruined beyond repair. I’ve no doubt you’ll find one that can please you.”

With that, Ianto was gone, leaving Jack to wonder just what else was going on with his archivist, because he certainly hadn’t seen this coming.

***

Ianto continued to avoid Jack, and as much as it pained him, Jack let himself be avoided. He was worried that Ianto wasn’t eating (or sleeping) again, but he tried to give him a bit of space, hoping he would figure things out and at least continue their friendship. 

It had been two full weeks from the aborted kiss when Jack decided that the team needed to start working on becoming a more cohesive unit. Perhaps time in the field would help settle Ianto. Jack knew the younger man had no aspirations for field work, but it was occasionally necessary, and this would be a safe, controlled, alien-free way of getting him some experience working with the rest of the team in the field.

“Ianto, any idea the state of our camping equipment?” he asked the next time Ianto brought him coffee.

Ianto looked into the middle distance, and Jack imagined him looking through the appropriate storage room in the archives, checking the inventory. “Three tents, half-dozen camp beds, lanterns, sundry supplies. All in serviceable condition.”

Jack clapped his hands together. “Let’s go load it up, then.”

“Sir?”

Jack bounded into the hub. “Go home, kids. Pack a weekend bag, we’re going to the Brecon Beacons on a case.” He looked at Tosh. “You said the rift should be quiet for the next few days. Set the equipment to monitor and send alerts to your PDA and my wrist strap.”

“I’ll hold the fort, Sir.” Ianto was glad he wouldn’t have to listen to Owen bitching.

“You’re coming along, Ianto,” Jack said, moving past the younger man and telling everyone to be at the hub by eight.

_Damn._

***

“Ianto, I’m sorry.” Funny thing was, the tactless brat did look somewhat contrite.

“Sorry she’s dead, or sorry you mentioned it?” No way was he letting her off that easy.

“I just didn’t think.”

Ianto smiled sadly. “You forgot.” 

Well, that pretty much summed up his place on the team. Tied it up with a pretty little bow.

Jack was looking daggers at him. 

Ianto let him.

“We should get some firewood,” Owen just wanted to escape.

“I’ll give you a hand.” Gwen practically leapt after him.

_Yes, go. Go far away._

Who the hell plays ‘who was the last person you snogged?’ in the company of someone who recently lost their partner? 

_In front of someone whose partner you helped to bloody fucking kill?_

Tosh went into her tent, needing to get away from the heat of Jack’s ire.

Ianto looked up and met Jack’s gaze. The older man was angry. Ianto held his gaze – he wasn’t feeling his usual defiance, but he certainly wasn’t going to apologize. If anything, he was owed an apology, for that bit of thoughtlessness.

Not that he expected _that_ to happen.

Finally, Jack spoke. “Was that really necessary?”

“Ruined your little team bonding moment, did I?” Ianto felt the anger rising. Why was this his fault?

“You knew that’s what I wanted to do, here. Why sabotage it?”

“Perhaps you should think about what just happened here, Jack. I’m not the one who sabotaged it. I’m not the one who was heartless and thoughtless and needlessly hurt half the team in one colossally childish blunder.”

Jack blinked. “Half?”

Ianto cut his eyes towards the tent where Tosh had taken refuge, and Jack closed his eyes and shook his head, realizing how hurtful that had been for Toshiko, as well as Ianto.

“You told me to stop hiding. Am I meant to just bow my head and pretend to be invisible, when _they_ try to keep me in the shadows?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying.”

“I was sitting right here, and somehow you all _forgot_?”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Then why are you so angry with me?”

“Because this isn’t how I wanted this to go!”

“You shouldn’t have brought me, then. Why did you?”

“You’re part of this team. We all of us need to accept that.”

“Better bonding games might help,” Ianto snarked.

“Noted.”

Ianto sighed. “You can’t make them accept me, Jack.” He shook his head. “Maybe it’s a lost cause.”

“No such thing,” Jack asserted. He took a deep breath. “You know, I was almost your last kiss, and you’ve been avoiding me ever since.”

“I told you, Jack. I’m broken.”

“Ianto, we’re all broken,” Jack said, a hint of desperation edging his voice. He took Ianto by the arms. “Tell me what’s wrong, that you think you’re beyond repair!”

“Jack, just leave it,” Ianto tried to pull away, but Jack tightened his hold.

“Tell me!”

“You don’t want me!” Ianto hissed. “You want a lover who can actually… _perform_. Not some useless, fucking... argh!” He pulled away from Jack, who was trying to process what Ianto was saying. “Just snap your fingers, Jack. I’m sure Gwen will come running back. She’d drop Owen, her darling Rhys, _and_ her knickers in a half-heartbeat, for you.” 

He turned away, and his shoulders slumped in defeat. “Besides, that’s what you love about her, isn’t it? She’s all bright and shiny and new. Not ruined, like the rest of us. You see her as having her humanity intact,” he snorted. “Unlike the rest of us, apparently. Though her general lack of sensitivity around her teammates makes it difficult for me to discern what it is _you_ seem to see.”

“Ianto…”

“Don’t trouble yourself, Jack.”

Jack was about to turn Ianto around to face him again when Gwen came running back to camp. “There’s a body in the woods,” she gasped, holding a stitch in her side.

Ianto turned away from Jack and quickly stuffed supplies into his backpack and grabbed Owen’s kit while Jack found Tosh, who had put on her headphones and was working on some coding on her laptop in her tent. She hadn’t wanted to hear Jack yell at Ianto when the younger man’d had every right to be hurt and offended by Gwen’s thoughtless game. 

So did she, for that matter.

***

Bastards had hit him hard enough to stun him. His head was throbbing, and everything had gone dark for a few minutes, but he’d not lost consciousness. Still, the world had gone all blurred and wibbly, and he couldn’t manage a decent look at his captors. He’d had a bad moment when he saw hoods, but he was able to see that they weren’t Death Eater cloaks. 

He landed with a thud and a grunt when they tossed him into what felt like a cellar. He slowly came back to himself, and saw Toshiko lying on the floor, a great bruise forming at the back of her neck. He quickly took off his coat and gently placed it under her head, then looked around for a weapon. He found a meat hook, but then sat on a crate, feeling a bit woozy.

Damn the Ministry, for denying him his wand! He felt a familiar surge of impotent rage and fear as he once again found himself in a situation that he could easily manage, if only he had his wand on him. He could get them out of here, to safety.

His fear was clouding his thinking, but he couldn’t shake the leaden weight that had settled in his belly. He and Toshiko could die here, and Kingsley would never know he had their blood on his hands. 

Ianto decided that if he was going to die here, it was important to him that Kingsley know that…

In fighting his panic, he struggled to keep his head, which he bloody well knew how to do. But what he and Tosh found as they searched the cellar kept him off balance.

He would later look back on the experience with some degree of shame. He, who had become an auror because he wanted to protect people, asking who was there to protect them. It was not a proud moment, but the smell of blood and the feeling of being trapped and the helplessness of being without his magic all swamped him with a panic he hadn’t felt since before his letter came. It left him feeling like that same small, helpless child.

No surprise then, when the contents of the refrigerator had kicked off a flashback.

Toshiko marveled at how calm he seemed, as he closed the refrigerator door and turned to her. “I’m having a flashback,” he said, his voice showing his strain to remain in control.

“Tell me what to do.”

“The date. Today is…” he growled as he folded in on himself. “Today is…” he couldn’t think of the date.

“Today is the fourth of April,” Tosh said, rubbing his arms. “Stay with me, Ianto.”

“We’re in a village called Brynblaidd,” he screwed his eyes shut, focusing. “People have been going missing.” He began reciting the names of those reported missing.

“Yes, that’s it,” she said, wondering if it was wise for Jack to let Ianto out into the field. Then again, body parts in the refrigerator were a bit extreme. It was only that line of thought that made her wonder why body parts had triggered a flashback for their admin.

Ianto had felt it coming on, so he had been able to ward off the bulk of the flashback, and he rode out what was left within a few minutes. He sat back onto the crate, and Tosh sat beside him. “You all right, now?”

Ianto slammed his shields back up. Her curiosity was screaming.

He nodded. “Cybermen have multiple ways of upgrading humans, did you know?”

She stared at him, her eyes wide. “The conversion rooms were too ruined for us to determine what had taken place, or how.”

“Just as well,” he nodded. “Their advance guard found the remnants of previous visits in the secure archives. Part of the building was under construction, and they set up the equipment and supplies that they’d found in that area. Plastic sheeting covered in blood spatter,” he shuddered. “People were dismembered, and parts found in the archives were used for the upgrades.”

“Ianto,” she reached out and rubbed his arm, worried he’d slip back into the memory.

He sniffed. “There were body parts everywhere. There was blood everywhere.” He coughed, then whooped in a breath. “When the rest of them came through, they brought their own conversion units. They excised brains and set them into the exoskeletons. But then the Daleks arrived, and they needed converts more quickly, so they set up a third conversion area.”

“Upgrading whole bodies,” Toshiko muttered.

“I’m sorry. I’m a liability, here,” Ianto swiped at his face and stood again. “I used to have a cooler head. I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing. Let’s just find a way out of here.”

Ianto was kicking ineffectually at the door (and he was trying really hard not to see that as a metaphor for his life) when the woman came to them. The shotgun butt to the abdomen served to clear his head, at the very least. He was clear enough to wonder why the hell Tosh would tell the woman how many of them there were, but she was the field agent. Perhaps she had a reason that he couldn’t work out.

The plastic sheeting with the blood spatters almost did his head in, but he was able to keep the plot long enough to have a go at the man in charge. 

Human. Who’d have thought? Well, human wasn’t that much of a surprise, really. But cannibal? Yeah. That was a new twist.

He got a vicious gut-punch for his troubles, and was winded as his wrists were bound by a set of handcuffs. He watched helplessly as Toshiko was tied up, as well. The man left the room, and Ianto told her to get ready to run. 

_This_. 

This he could do. She’d think he’d be right behind her, but there was no way they could get past both of their captors. But maybe he could buy her enough time…

The man came back and pawed at Toshiko, who looked repulsed, but ready. There was a moment where Ianto was back in the hub, Dr. Tanizaki feeling up Lisa, but he fought for control. The adrenaline kicked up a notch as the man turned his attention to him. He smiled at the cannibal like the madman his friends thought he was, and then head butted him, hard enough to send him flying backwards across the room.

He ran at the woman, knowing this would occupy both cannibals and give Tosh a chance to run. A punch to the face and another kick to the gut had him down, lying awkwardly on his bound hands. A quick look at the boy showed the poor kid had all but given up. Then everything went black as the bitch brought the shotgun butt down on his head with enough force to actually knock him unconscious.

***

**Author's Note:**

> Some dialogue lifted from audiobook "Broken" and series episode "Countrycide".
> 
> Who'd have thought Ianto would be emotionally ready to start something with Jack before he was physically ready? Which only means he's not emotionally ready, after all.
> 
> Patience. Soon...
> 
> Buckle up for a less kind and gentle "Countrycide", next up.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
